FBI Director William Sessions and U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr will join law enforcement and government officials from across the state today in Baltimore at the Governor's Summit on Violent Street Crime.

The summit, which will also involve business and community representatives, is a gathering to develop new strategies to combat the sharp increase in violent crime, which has risen 37 percent statewide over the past 16 years. Organizers expect more than 800 people to attend.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer is expected to unveil plans for a drug strike force to be coordinated by state police investigators to intercept and dismantle organized drug trafficking in the state.

The strike force is part of a statewide strategy on violent street crime that will be announced at the end of the summit by Governor Schaefer and Bishop L. Robinson, public safety and correctional services secretary.

The strike force will target drug dealers from out of state, particularly New York, who are trying to establish themselves in Baltimore and other parts of the state.

A University of Maryland researcher will present the results of a poll examining Marylanders' attitudes toward violent crime and its prevention.

The summit begins at 9 a.m. at the Baltimore Convention Center. Mr. Sessions will deliver a keynote address in the morning and Mr. Barr will speak in the afternoon.